US Should Abolish the Debt Ceiling, Trump Says

President-elect Donald Trump said that “the smartest thing” that Congress could do is abolish the debt ceiling, one day after opposing a deal to fund the federal government before a shutdown.

“The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge,” he said.

The debt ceiling “doesn’t mean anything, except psychologically,” Trump added.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorsed Trump’s proposal.

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For nearly a century, the debt ceiling has been used as the maximum amount that lawmakers can borrow to meet existing obligations such as Social Security, Medicare, and interest payments. While the debt ceiling functions as a check on government borrowing and spending—and a tool for political maneuvering—raising the debt ceiling does not authorize new spending.

In May 2023, President Joe Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) raised the debt ceiling and suspended it until Jan. 1, 2025. The Treasury Department can extend the deadline by employing extraordinary measures, such as suspending reinvestments in federal employee retirement funds, postponing rollovers in maturing securities, and using cash in the general account at the Federal Reserve.

During the previous round of negotiations last year, Trump urged Republican lawmakers to let the United States default on its debt if Democrats disagree with spending cuts.

“But it’s better than what we’re doing right now because we’re spending money like drunken sailors,” he said.

Congress will have until 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 21 to avert a shutdown.

However, Trump’s opposition relates to add-ons including a congressional pay raise, a crackdown on hidden hotel fees, and what he called “sweetheart provisions for government censors.” It also contains other unrelated provisions, including a section on page 950 that reads, “Striking ‘offender’ and inserting ‘justice-involved individual.’”

“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch,” Trump said. “If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration?”

He stated that his party wants to support farmers, pay for disaster relief, and ensure that the United States can succeed in 2025.

“The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill without Democrat giveaways combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” Trump wrote.

He told congressional Republicans that if they voted for the bill, they should expect to face primary challenges in the 2026 midterm elections.

“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk wrote.

“Either there is massive change or America goes bankrupt, therefore there must be massive change!” he stated in a separate X post.

Musk’s involvement garnered scorn from various lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), calling him “President Elon Musk” and saying that billionaires do not run the U.S. government.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has signaled that he and his Republican colleagues will head back to the drawing board. Any framework would require bipartisan support in both chambers because the GOP holds a razor-thin majority in the House, and the Democrats have a narrow majority in the Senate.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized the decision, accusing the Republicans of breaking a bipartisan agreement that they crafted.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans all across this country,” he said. “An agreement is an agreement. It was bipartisan, and there was nothing more to say.”

In recent years, Congress has relied on omnibus spending bills and continuing resolutions to fund the government.